


good intentions

by suspendedreality



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Confusion, Fluff, Lucy Boynton: Walking Common Sense Meter, M/M, Miscommunication, Romantic Comedy, Spongebob Voice: The Gang's All Here, just... in general, we don't deserve her, we love including all the boys and lucy in our fics gdi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 10:04:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17764703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suspendedreality/pseuds/suspendedreality
Summary: Joe wants to make a grand romantic gesture to his boyfriend Ben. He was going to show up outside his door step, smiling in the rain with a cutesy umbrella. They were gonna kiss in the rain, and Ben was going to be so happily surprised that he'd cry.This was a cute beginning to a soft, lovely story, right?You'd be right to assume that. The only problem was that cupid must have worked a littletoohard whenever supplying Joe with this idea, because it caught on quicker than brush lit by a discarded cigarette —because it just so happened that Ben had a similar plan.Or:when u fly to London to surprise ur bf, but ur bf showed up at ur NYC apartment with a bottle of wine, ready to sweep u off ur feet. :\\ siri, send tweet





	good intentions

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in one whole-ass day, lads.
> 
> i am very tired and am now gonna go binge odaat w my babe have fun kiddos
> 
> [hhhhhhh i made a moodboard for this](https://mazlektov.tumblr.com/post/182832799302/its-inspired-by-my-fic-good-intentions-when-you)

Neither of them claimed to be especially intelligent.

Okay, yes, that was a lie, but that statement seemed to be a decent disclaimer for what exactly transpired in early May of that year.

For Joe, his plan was stellar. Well thought-out with his wonderful friend Gwilym Lee.

The plan was one of romance. A grand gesture fit for none other than Ben, Joe’s lovely boyfriend. Due to the sensitivity of the situation, and the potential for a big surprise, and possibly for Ben to fall _impossibly_ more in love with Joe, the plan was to remain a secret.

That meant that Rami was kept in the dark for all of this.

(Later, Joe would claim that it was his cosmic penance that he, of all people, would keep things from his best friend of over a decade.)

Joe recalled the phone call to Gwil like it was yesterday. He was walking down the street, towards home with his phone pressed into his ear. The sun was much-to-bright and his shades weren't strong enough in the least. Gwil sounded smug.

"It's raining here."

"It's _always_ fucking raining there," Joe snarked. "Listen man, this is serious."

"Yes, yes, I apologize," Gwil went on. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

"You'd better be," he grumped. "I don't want to have to explain it all twice." Gwil hummed in affirmation, so Joe took in a little breath. "I want to visit Ben."

Gwil made a small sound. "So? When are you coming? If we don't have lunch while you're here, I'll be angry with you, you know."

"No, you don't get it." Joe sighed and took his phone from his ear so he could press the back of his hand to his forehead. " _Look_ ," he said into the receiver. "I want it to be a surprise. I've got this full week blocked off so I can come and stay for a little while. I need you to help me."

"Alright. What am I going to be doing, here?"

"Letting me stay a night at yours? The night I come in, so I can look less dead on my feet when I show up at his house." Joe shrugged to himself sheepishly. He rubbed at the back of his neck as he walked up the steps to his apartment building. He walked through the lobby and to the elevators. "I know it's short notice, I'm sorry, Gwil."

"Don't be a fool," Gwil scoffed. "When are you coming in?"

"My flight is next Thursday. I'll spend the night at yours and then show up outside his apartment with a boombox, blasting 'Somebody to Love' until he looks out his window."

"That's perfect. Plenty of time to get ready. Ben is going to love this."

Joe grinned. He pressed the button to call the elevator and rolled his shoulder a little. "I sure as hell hope so."

* * *

(A cute beginning to a soft, lovely story, right?

You'd be right to assume that. It was a wonderful gesture. The only problem was that cupid must have worked a little _too_ hard whenever supplying Joe with this idea, because it caught on quicker than brush lit by a discarded cigarette — it just so happened Ben had much the same idea.)

* * *

Ben realized that he'd need a little help carrying out his plan, and who better than to ask his _one_ asset closest to Joe by both proximity and platonic relationship-wise?

Rami Malek, quite obviously.

He found himself standing in front of his bedroom mirror, brushing his teeth with one hand as he texted Rami with the other.

**Rami Malek**

_Hey, mate, can I ask a favor of you? It's to do with Joe. < _

2100 translated to 1600 New York City time, but normal time constraints meant barely anything to busy actor's life. Who knew _what_ he could be up to on a regular Sunday evening?

Ben finished brushing his teeth, and was settled into his couch, watching a documentary on the telly with Frankie snuggled into his lap when he received a text in return.

_ > It doesn't have to do with your Instagram dealings, does it? _

Ben snorted a laugh,  accidentally startling Frankie in the process. He scratched her ears idly to calm her down until she laid her head back down, drifting off again.

 _No, not this time. < _ _  
_ _I want to surprise him with a visit later on this week. I was wondering if you'll help me. You have a key to his place, right? < _

_ > I do. _ _  
_ _ > What do you have in mind? _

Ben found himself grinning as his plan began to come all together. He told Rami what he had so far, the barest bones of what was developing into a proper romantic gesture. Rami put in his thoughts, made little comments and helped him with his plans for the next few hours until everything seemed to be on paper.

Just before bed, he sat in front of his laptop, placing orders online for flowers to be delivered to Rami's New York apartment later that week. He purchased his plane ticket minutes later.

It was official. He was leaving Thursday.

* * *

Joe couldn't contain himself. He was giddy with excitement, and he couldn't even _share_ that excitement with Ben. He was _this close_ to sharing his plans with Rami, but keeping the secret between him and Gwil seemed like a good thing at the time. Less likely to get around to Ben.

(More likely to fuck him over in just little old 4 days, too, but that was neither here nor there.)

—This, of course, led to regular shouting of his giddiness to the one person in on his secret. He was pretty sure that Gwilym was getting pretty fucking sick of him. Oh well, he would just have to deal, because they had four more days to go, and then everything was going to be wonderful.

* * *

Later, Rami would wonder why the hell he hadn't suspected something.

It wasn't wholly uncommon for Joe to pull away into his own life for little periods of time. Such a big personality needed re-charging sometimes. Rami knew from experience. There was nothing quite like having the week to yourself, no connections or responsibilities beyond resting and recouping from the job's stresses.

Even so. Joe seemed a little vague with his plans. He mentioned that he'd blocked the next few days off — _just gonna hang_ , he said, his eyes squinting as he nodded. Rami nodded along and sipped his coffee. He'd tried to get a feel for Joe's week — you know, irrefutable plans and the like. He'd been... frustratingly vague. It seemed like he was dodging any plans Rami was (or _wasn't_ , as the case actually was) trying to make with him.

"I'm not moving from my couch," he vowed. "It's my new _place of rest_ , and I'm not giving it up."

Rami laughed along with him, and didn't push him any more.

After all, this was good news, wasn't it? His week was free, just in time for Ben's visit. They could relax and have a good time all of their own without having to think about work. It would be so damn _good_ for them. Rami knew that they hadn't had much time together recently, and it was starting to show in their collective weariness.

Rami was excited for them, glad they were going to have this.

Just a day or so left, and then Ben would be getting on that plane!

* * *

Ben didn't mind flying — he just abhorred red-eye flights.

It was four in the morning. Normally, he wouldn't be opposed to a four-in-the-morning outing, but being startled up out of a good sleep to a baring alarm at two, and having to rouse himself up to make sure he had everything in order before heading to the airport was a special brand of hell.

He was slumped in a chair, waiting for his plan to begin boarding. He nearly fucking fell asleep through the announcement, but he made it.

He texted Joe "good morning" right before he was made to turn off his mobile. He settled into his seat with a long-suffering sigh, ready for an ungodly flight. It was worth it, he insisted. Joe was worth it.

* * *

So, Joe's flight was mediocre at best. He ate six bags of peanuts because he insisted that he wouldn't be able to stomach anything more than that...

And then proceeded to eat all the peanuts they would allow him.

He was a flawed individual, he understood that. But at least he was a flawed individual with a vodka on the rocks and the giddy realization that he was going to be seeing his gorgeous boyfriend in just a little less than a day.

He stumbled off the flight at seven pm, a backpack over his shoulder and a roller in his hand. He was sure his hair was insane, and his eyes still couldn't open all the way, too glued together with dreams of sleep and a longing for a proper bed.

Did he buy an iced coffee from the Starbucks? Yes. Did he get more of a rush from the sugar than the caffeine? Yes — _yes he did, alright?_

Within minutes he was back up and at ‘em with his excitement kicking in again with full force. Watch out Ben, he was on his way!

* * *

In Rami's expert opinion, Ben looked like shit.

He was half-asleep, looking like someone had just bought him a meal before they smashed it into the floor in front of his face. He had a backpack strapped to his back, and a beanie tugged low on his head, with strands of blond hair poking out to say hello.

Ben did perk up when he saw Rami. He brightened _considerably_ when Rami dragged him into a hug and pressed a small kiss to his temple.

"How was your flight?" Rami questioned as he pulled back, his hands gripping Ben's shoulders.

Ben simply groaned and rolled his eyes. "Brilliant. I'm jet lagged, and need something to eat a half hour ago."

Rami laughed and threw an arm over his shoulders. "Come on, let's grab a cab. We can pick something up on the way back to mine."

They ended up going to Rami's first. They dropped off Ben's backpack in his guest room, and Ben said hello to Lucy, who was stretched across the sofa, reading a book in what appeared to be Rami's tee shirt, and a pair of her own shorts.

She hugged Ben tightly, holding the back of his head as she told him how much she had missed him.

"I think it's wonderful, what you've got planned for Joey," she told him in a stage-whisper, like it was a kind of secret. Well — it was _supposed to be._

"Oh, do you?" Ben asked her, his eyebrows raised as he looked over his shoulder to Rami, who rubbed the side of his neck with a sheepish grin.

"She found out the same time I did."

Lucy smiled at him, rubbing her thumbs into Ben's shoulders. "Yes, don't be mad at him. I haven't told a soul."

Ben grinned at her and hugged her again. "I'm so fucking glad to see you, Lucy."

"Oh, of course you are. Now come and see the flowers. They were just dropped off. Then we can go out to eat."

Ben pulled back, excitement lighting his entire being. He rubbed his hands together, nodding for her to lead the way.

* * *

"Gwil, I'm going to marry you," Joe promised. He was planted face-first into Gwil's bed. It was a comfortable thing. Practically perfect. Fuck it, maybe if he didn't marry Gwil, he was just gonna marry this fucking bed. It was just what he needed after his flight. Utter perfection.

Gwil laughed somewhere behind him, and a throw-pillow hit the back of his head. Joe just murmured a little phrase lost the the blankets as he dragged the throw pillow underneath him.

A weight shifted the mattress as Gwil climbed onto the bed next to Joe. He smelled the Thai takeout they'd bought on the way home, and that was the last straw he'd needed to pull himself up to his elbows.

"Eating in bed? I wouldn't have pegged you the _type_ ," Joe muttered, flabbergasted.

Gwilym laughed and stabbed his fork into the takeout container. "You've seen me eat in bed plenty of times," he noted.

Joe smiled at him, leaning his cheek on his palm. "Teasing." He let out a sigh and rolled away from Gwil, ending up on his back. He groaned, loud and long as he scrubbed his hands over his face. "Fuck," he cursed. "I shouldn't be this nervous."

"You haven't got any reason to be nervous," Gwil reasoned. "He's your boyfriend. Partner in a committed relationship.”

Joe grunted and waved his hand in the air. "Yeah. Never done anything like this, though. Traveled across the damn pond, about to show up at his door totally unannounced."

He looked at Gil, who made a face at him, utterly nonplussed. "Sounds pretty wonderful to me," he said. When Joe didn't reply, he sighed and put his takeout away to the side table. "Look, Joe. He'll be thrilled. Won't even know what hit him."

A smile cracked Joe's face and he pushed himself up to his elbows. "Think so?"

"Oh yes. Now eat something. I'll find a movie for us to watch." He got up from the bed and left the room, leaving Joe to groan after him.

"Seriously, Gwilym Lee, just marry me!"

* * *

The next morning left Ben feeling more human than the night before, though not by much. He was still five hours-off New York for all intents and purposes, stilted by hopping time zones.

The room was dark, thanks to the blackout curtains. The bed was soft underneath him, and he was warm. Much too comfy to be even remotely reasonable.

And then his phone went off. These parallels were so similar to what he'd went through the day before, that he thought he'd fucking dreamed it all.

Oh shit. Shit shit _shit_. He bolted up, scrabbling for his phone.

It wasn't an alarm, he discovered with a relieved breath. It was, rather, a call from Joe.

His mouth pulled into a smile and he flopped back into the bed, answering the call with a grumbled greeting.

Joe made a surprised sound on the other line. "Are you still in bed?" he asked in bewilderment.

Ben froze for a second, his eyes popping open. "Nah, just uh... took a little nap." He checked the time on his phone and grimaced. It would be well onto noon at home. "Got up too early this morning," he said, a white lie, just to keep up with appearances. He had to sell it — if Joe caught on this late in the game—

Joe made a sort of mournful noise, but it was drowned out to a bustle in the background of the line.

A frown pulled at the corner of Ben's mouth and he sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. "Out and about this early, love?"

"Oh you know me, babe," he hummed, "ever the early riser. Getting the proverbial worm and all that biz."

"You are the complete opposite of an early riser," Ben pointed out. He kicked the covers off of his legs and stood up. "Can barely get you out of bed without a bit of incentive."

"Mmm, well you always _do_ have the best bribes." Ben could just see the smirk plastered all over Joe's face.

Ben pulled back the curtains and immediately regretted it. He cursed through a groan and brought his hand up to shield his eyes.

"What is it?" Joe questioned.

"Nothin', love. Just damn bright outside today."

Joe paused for a moment and there was a quiet click of a tongue. "Oh yeah?" he asked. "One of London's rare ones, huh? Where they actually let you in on the fact that there _is_ a sun."

Ben snorted. "Exactly. Dunno how long it's going to last. Pray for me, love."

Joe laughed. "Sure thing."

There was more noise in the back of the call and it made Ben where they diverged earlier.  "Why are you out so early?" he asked, "It's barely after seven there, isn't it?"

"Yes, I want that one," Joe said, very much not to Ben. "Thank you. No, I uh," he switched rails, talking to Ben again, he could hear it in his tone. It was a little brighter, happier to be in the conversation, "just one of those days. Accidentally slept all day yesterday, so I didn't sleep very long, you know. Which is fine, just means I'm making the most of my time to myself."

"And uh, I thought you were spending most of it at your flat."

"Oh yeah, loads of it. I'm just out running a few errands right now. I'll probably be back in a few hours, I dunno."

Ben hummed, nodding along. He looked down to the busy streets and tried to calculate it all in his head. A few hours. That would be enough time for what he and Rami had planned out. Just needed to pick up another one or two things, and then they'd be golden.

Fuck, they needed to work quickly.

"Yeah, take your time Joe," Ben said slowly. "No sense rushing if you're just going to wear yourself out."

"Mmm, when you say that, sounds like you're tryna keep me out of my house."

Oh shit. Fuck sh _it fuck damn—_

"Making sure I don't become a recluse? Terribly sweet of you, darling."

Ben laughed at that. Maybe a little too raucously, a little too loud and sounding like he was trying to convince someone of something — never mind that's what he was trying to _do_.

"Looking after your best, Joe. Always."

"Oh, shut up." Ben could hear the grin in his voice, the softer tone he took on.

God, Ben couldn't wait to kiss his man all over that handsome face of his.

He nearly said it there, told Joe to hurry home so he could kiss him — so he could show Joe just what "looking after" meant.

(In hindsight, maybe he should have.)

In the end, he drew back the rest of the curtains before sitting on the edge of the window seat, letting the sun warm his shoulders and help relax the tension knotting in his stomach.

"What are you up to today?" Joe asked. It was loud around him. Like all of New York City was shouting in his direction at once. He must have ducked into a shop, because it quieted down, and it was just Joe.

"Uhm... groceries. Yes, I'm doing a lot of grocery shopping today." He grimaced. Jesus, for being a fucking actor he was off his goddamn game this morning.

Sue him, he just woke up.

It didn't matter, anyway, it seemed. Joe seemed to take the bait, anyroad.

"Slow day, you know how it is."

"Good for you, babe. Enjoy it."

"I will. Gonna get dressed, okay? I'll call you later on today, yeah?"

Joe hummed, and Ben could hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah, sure thing. I love you." He sounded lovely. All Ben could think about was how would be able to gather Joe up in his arms and pepper kisses all over his face, in his hair.

He repeated the words to Joe, and the call was short-lived after that. Ben chucked his phone back to the blankets and left the room to see if Rami and Lucy were up yet. It didn't sound like Joe was going to be out of the house for long, and they needed to get moving.

* * *

Joe looked at his phone for a long moment, his mouth pursed.

"What is it?" Gwil asked from across the cafe table. He pinched a bit of scone off and had paused with it halfway to his mouth.

"Said it was sunny," Joe told him. He looked out the window, to the soggy London streets. It was like the sun had completely abandoned them to the water and the slosh.

Gwil looked outside and made a distressed noise. "Maybe he's cracked," he suggested.

Joe shook his head and sipped his tea. "Look, anyway. He just woke up, so we'll give him about forty-five to get going and around, and then I'll head over. Maybe I can catch him as he's leaving."

"Better hurry and drink your tea, then," Gwil commented. "We've got a ways to walk."

"Need to buy a damn umbrella before we head over. Feel like I might be standing around for a while."

* * *

Rami let Ben into the apartment around eight that morning.

Ben made himself busy with putting his things in Joe's bedroom, stuffing his bag under the bed and hanging his jacket in the closet.

Lucy joined him after a minute, the basket hooked over her arm. "Do you want to wait before we do all of this?" she asked, gesturing to the flowers. "If you pluck the petals too soon, they'll wilt."

Ben hesitated, looking between her and the bed as she set the basket atop the blankets. He figured that, if they were really going to do this romantic gesture thing, might as well go all out. He had a slew of candles to gather from around the apartment, next.

"Wait, I think. It’ll look better/"

Lucy nodded and rubbed her hands on the outsides of her thighs. She was dressed casual, a bare step above what Ben had seen her in the day before. She came with a sheer determination to see this thing through. The only thing missing were the latex gloves pulled up to her elbows.

Rami ducked in the room, looking much the same, though a little frown pulled at his mouth. "I know we came to help clean up, but there isn't a lot to do here."

Ben's brows knit together. "What do you mean?" he asked, following Rami out into the living area again.

"We were going to help you get everything straight, but—” He shrugged a shoulder, looking around. It connected what he meant instantly.

Everything was in order, down to the casual blanket thrown over the back of the sofa. All tidy and neat. The kitchen was spotless, not even water residue remained in the bottom of the sink.

This wasn't to say that Joe was a messy individual. He was a full-grown man who was _perfectly_ capable of taking care of himself and his space, but this was just a little odd.

Ben had seen him get into his ruts, when he was stuck on a character's aspect, or when he was firmly buried in a fit of writer's block. When various horizontal planes of the apartment become a desk, just for the sake of a change in scenery.

"Maybe his maid already came through," Lucy offered lightly.

Ben nodded. "Makes sense," he mused, even though it didn't, because he knew that Joe's maid came on Wednesdays.

Maybe Joe had just done a bit of spring cleaning, he reasoned.

He didn't notice the lack of Joe's personal effects, like his laptop — or his lack of toothbrush sitting on the bathroom counter.

* * *

Joe bought himself an umbrella. It was classically black, with little yellow polka dots. Something totally-sensible for the walk from Gwilym's to Ben's.

With his earbuds twisted into his ears and Queen's Somebody To Love acting as his walking soundtrack, he felt fucking _bouncy_. He was ready to take on fucking anything. The rain did nothing to dampen his mood, because soon he was going to see the goddamn love of his life.

Ben would open the door, and Joe would grin, say some stupid line before Ben hugs him.

Or maybe he'd be perched on the front steps to the little house, just beyond the gate, sitting under the awning. Ben would be too stunned — he'd just freeze up on the sidewalk with the gate wide open.

In his mind, both these situations ended in sweet kisses, with them snuggled on the couch with a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea.

So, he was a romantic. Sue him.

He eased open the gate, hopped over a little puddle that lied between the sidewalk and the path, and marched right up to the door. He knocked a couple times, but he couldn't hear anything happening further in the house. No activity, not even from little Frankie running around, curious about the noise.

Funny. Joe didn't really think that Ben would take her out in weather like this.

He must still be out.

Option two, it was, then! He sat on the dry upper steps and closed his umbrella, shaking it out in front of him. He set it aside and pulled out his phone, ready for the long-haul.

He snapped a picture of his view, the gate and the street beyond. A little bit of that front garden made it into the shot, and Joe smiled at the shot. He swiped out the house number across from him and added the picture to his Instagram story with a tiny navy blue heart drawn in the corner. No location, or caption. He short of hoped Ben would see it.

He sort of expected a phone call from a confused and bewildered Ben.

Weirdly? Didn't happen.

* * *

Why not?

Because Ben was too busy to look at his damn phone. It was 10 in the morning. Joe was still out, and he was getting antsy. He'd went ahead and pulled away the petals. The distraction of spreading them around the apartment eased the tension. He opened a window or two and let the breeze in, along with the fresh air. The gentle air didn't disturb the petals much, and Ben was thankful.

He thought Joe would be home by now. He had sent Lucy and Rami away, thanking them for everything with hugs and kisses before sending them off. They wished him luck, and Rami winked at him before he turned back down the hall.

Ben was going to go mad.

Frankie did a little to alleviate his stress. She ran around in excitement, apparently very happy to be back in Joe's home for once.

Another half hour after playing with Frankie around the apartment, trying to ignore the dread growing in his gut, Ben was lying across Joe's couch and Frankie snug at his side. The Discovery Channel was on, but Ben was looking at the blank screen of his phone, debating whether or not he should just call Joe. Tell him and get it all over with.

A spoiled surprise is still a good one, nonetheless, he figured. Besides — what if something had happened?

"Fuck it," he murmured, opening his phone. He dialed Joe's number and put the call on speaker. He muted the telly just before the line connected.

* * *

Joe sat there for a while. Never in his entire goddamn life had Joe ever seen someone take so long on a grocery shopping trip. Never.

And yet here he'd been sitting for nearly three hours. His ass was numb. This was the second time it had fallen asleep. He heaved himself up and walked in small circles on the tiny porch.

He wished that he had a copy of Ben's key. He didn't know why he didn't have one, really — I mean, what was the logistics? Christ, Joe was going to have to remember to get Ben one for _his_ apartment.

Joe thought that the reverse situation might have been better, if he was stuck in his apartment’s hallway, sitting against the door like he'd been locked out. It would have been _tons_ better — mainly for the sheer goddamn fact that he would have been _inside_. The winds picked up for a while, cutting into him before they settled down again, leaving him bare and vulnerable. It was fucking cold, and his jacket wasn't thick enough for this madness. His collar was wet and it was driving him fucking crazy.

He should have taken the one Gwil had offered before he walked out the door. Joe called him a mother hen.

God, he wished he'd just listened to mother.

His phone rang, and he sort of wished it was Gwil again. Maybe he'd run the coat down here, if he asked him _really_ nicely.

Joe's heart leapt out of his chest when he saw Ben's name pop up on the screen. He backed up into the corner of the porch and answered the call, popping his earbuds, answering with a grin.

Ben greeted him in a less-energetic manner. "What are you up to?" he asked after a moment.

"Uh... nothing," Joe said, looking around with a grimace. Shit, he hated this part. "Just got home."

"Oh?" Ben made a little sound, and there was a rustling on the other line, and what sounded like a quiet yip from Frankie. "You're home?"

Joe hummed. "Uh... yeah. Going to grab a shower." He winced, peeking an eye out on the street, hoping to explain away the sound of raindrops. He just prayed that it wouldn't start thundering soon.

He didn't hear much noise on Ben's end of the line, so he assumed that he wasn't out in the street. Maybe he'd called from a car. Maybe he'd gotten a taxi.

Joe fucking hoped so.

Ben was quiet, and Joe frowned. "Ben? Still there?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah." He sounded distracted. "You're in the shower?"

Joe didn't even try to fight down the smirk that crept up. "Yeah, why? Does that get you all hot and bothered?"

Ben's laugh was dry. "You've no idea," he deadpanned.

Joe got the feeling that he'd said something out of turn. He buried his hands deep in his pockets and frowned. "You alright over there?" he asked.

"Yeah. Yes. Don't worry about me, love. I'll let you shower."

"Okay," Joe trailed off, a frown pinching between his brows. "I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Ben gave the affirmative, and then the call went quiet. The buzzing picked up in a couple of seconds and Joe hung up, not quite knowing what the fuck that was about.

* * *

Rami had stepped out for a moment, a quick run down the street was all. Lucy was left in the apartment, picking up her book again as she sat at the bar in the kitchen.

She was a chapter and a half in when her phone rang: a FaceTime call from Ben.

She answered with a little frown. "Obviously he isn't home yet, otherwise this call wouldn't be taking place," she hummed lightly, taking in Ben's miserable little expression shoved half into a throw-pillow.

"Just got off a call with him," he muttered, voice sullen.

"And what happened?" she prodded.

Ben adjusted his pillow, leaning up so his full face was in the frame of the call. "Called him and asked him what he's up to. Said he was home already. About to be in the shower."

"And somehow, I don't think he would have made it to his bathroom without noticing a few things."

"Mrmph," Ben grumped. "He's not in this apartment. Think I'd know if he was."

Lucy didn't know what to say to that. She hesitated, looking across the kitchen. "Alright." She straightened up, uncrossing her legs. "Are you sure he meant his home? He's not visiting his mother?"

"I'm pretty damn sure," Ben snipped. He grimaced tightly. "Sorry, Luce."

She just shook her head. "Would you like me to call him?"

"You wouldn't mind?" he asked softly. "Or Rami."

"He went out," she explained. "I'll talk to him, okay?"

"Thank you, love."

* * *

(They would later realize that they owed Lucy a hell of a lot, and would resolve to take her out to a nice dinner.)

* * *

The one thing Joe wasn't exactly expecting today was a video  call from Lucy. He almost didn't pick up, very aware where he was, in front of Ben's house, very much not in the United States — and the fact that he'd kept it a secret from her and Rami both.

He slid his thumb over the accept button and held the phone up a little more, straightening his spine.

"Uh... hey, Lucy."

She was in her and Rami's apartment, looking dressed for a relaxed day. Her eyes roamed over the screen, and she made a pensive little face. "Joey..." she trailed off. "Where are you?"

He laughed tightly and rubbed his hand over his arm, up his shoulder. "So, I'm outside Ben's," he finally revealed. "Been waiting for him to get home since, like, one? I don't even know anymore."

"You're..." Her eyebrows jumped, and she looked like she was at a loss for words. Like they were stuck at the back of her tongue and couldn't for the life of her coax them forwards. "I'm sorry, you're in _London_?" she gawked.

Joe grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Have this whole surprise planned." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked out along the street, as if Ben would come traipsing up the sidewalk at that moment. "Going to cook him dinner. —Oh, _shit_ ," he gasped suddenly. "I forgot my fucking bottle of wine at Gwil's. _Damn it_ , I wonder if I have time to go get it."

Lucy made a distressed sound, and he snapped his eyes back to hers. She cursed under her breath. " _You're in London?_ " she repeated, voice going higher. She looked away from the phone, and Joe could vaguely hear a clatter in the apartment, something like a door opening and shutting. "Rami!" she cried, looking awfully stricken. "Joe is in London."

Joe watched as Rami hurried into frame, looking fucking bewildered. He braced his arm in the bar next to Lucy, dipping his head in the frame.

"Hey Rami, join the circle," Joe joked, "pull up a chair, we don't bite."

"Joey, when the fuck did you get there?" Rami demanded, rolling right over him with a sense of urgency.

"Last night. Spent the night with Gwil. Sorry I didn't tell you guys, I just didn't want it accidentally getting around to Gwil." He shrugged a shoulder, giving a wry smile. "Yeah, sorry for blowing you off earlier, Ram." Rami just cursed and dropped his face into Lucy's shoulder. Joe frowned. "Okay, what's this reaction for?" he demanded. "What's going on?"

Lucy bit her lip and sighed. Rami peeked up from her shoulder. "Ben is here," he finally said. "He _also_ got here last night."

Joe blinked. What the fuck?

Christ, that... That came out of nowhere.

"What are the goddamn _chances_?!" he exclaimed. This was like a fuckng romcom. One of the shitty ones, at that. He looked out over the street. "Are you sure?"

Rami laughed. "Yeah, should be. He spent the night with us. He's at your apartment right now."

Oh. _Oh._ Oh fuck.

He didn't even know what to say to that. He wasn't even sure that he knew how to form _words_ anymore.

"And he's pissed," Lucy went on. "Because you just told him that you were at home when you are, decidedly, _not_."

Rami's eyes widened at much the same time Joe's did. "Holy shit, Joe," he murmured.

"How was I supposed to know he'd know?!" he cried out. He hauled himself up. "I gotta go call my man."

"Good luck," Lucy bade him, Rami nodding along.

Joe ended the call before re-dialing. He popped out his umbrella,  despite the rain slowing to a drizzle.

Ben didn't pick up on the first ring, and Joe had an uncomfortable sort of prickling at the base of his skull.

He shut the gate tight behind him and hurried off down the sidewalk.

* * *

He missed the call. Ben abandoned the phone on the couch while he was in the kitchen. Lucy sent him a text, said Joe was going to call him.

Ben immediately got up to crack open the bottle of wine he'd bought for them to share. He poured himself a glass and leaned up against the counter, trying to make himself not to jump to any conclusions.

The call was on the last ring by the time he registered the sound.

He hurried to retrieve the phone before settling on the couch again. The video call to Joe went through almost immediately. He was on the street, an umbrella over him. It was raining. He cast a look to the window, confused as all fucking hell. Sure, the weather could be spotty, but that seemed like a bit of a stretch. There was nothing but blue skies and sunshine, currently.

"Hey buddy," he greeted, tone breezy.

Joe was on his own tempo, and by God, it was a quick one. "I'm a fucking idiot, I know. Listen, Ben. Lucy called me—” He was talking quickly, almost too fast for Ben to keep up. “—okay. I'm sorry for lying earlier, when you asked where I was."

Ben pursed his lips and took a sip from his wine. "Yeah," he muttered. It was neutral, soft. Wholly undecided about how he was going to go about this. He huffed out a breath and looked to Joe's background. "Where are you?" he asked.

Joe's smile was tight and rueful. "Two blocks down from your house."

His tongue clicked softly. He took another sip of wine. He didn't know how to fucking respond to that. It was like his brain all of the sudden kicked into .001 speed, and trying to register what Joe said _physically hurt._

That was all well and good, though, because Joe just kept on talking.

"Apparently we've been spending too much time together, because we had scary similar ideas. Lucy told me where you are. Fuck that I can _see_ that. Look, there's my light fixtures." He huffed out a breath, scowling out into the world. Ben's brain just decided to realize how rosy Joe's cheeks and the tip of his nose was. "Been waiting for you to come home." He clicked his tongue and squinted at Ben in the phone screen. " _Grocery shopping_ , my ass!"

"I think we should call a truce." He could feel a laugh bubbling up in his throat, and he muffled it with another sip of his wine. "Are you cold?" he asked suddenly.

Joe snorted. "I'm a goddamn human icicle," he corrected. "I'm _well_ beyond cold, Ben." His shoulders jerked with a shiver, as if just to make a point.

Ben shifted a little, tipping half into the back cushions. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "You coming here, am I going there, or do we just go home and forget the whole occasion."

" _Absolutely not,_ " Joe scoffed. "We both tried too hard to just call it a day. I'm gonna..." He dropped the phone to his side for a moment. Ben got a wonderful view of the side of his hoodie as he ran across the street. He pulled the phone back up once he was across, puffing out his cheeks. "I'm going back to Gwil's and get my shit gathered back together — can get to New York." Ben smiled at him, loving the look in his eyes, the determination in the line of his jaw. "We can have our cliche romcom moment in the airport."

"I'll run jump into your arms, shall I?" Ben teased. He finished off his glass and reached over to place it on the coffee table, reminding himself to put it in the kitchen after their call.

"Well, I was expecting it _sometime_ today. I'm just glad I didn't show up outside your door with a boombox. Could you imagine how embarrassing that'd be?"

Ben grinned. "Oh, I'd love to have seen that."

Joe grunted and waved his free hand. "Play nice," he said, sending him a side eye. He screwed his mouth off to the side. Ben watched him for a minute before Joe looked back to him. "I love you," he said.

His smile was sudden, and he couldn't have stamped it down if he'd tried. "I love _you_."

"And I'm going to hang up now, 'cause I'm going to break out into a run and you don't need to see that side of me."

Ben laughed. "Godspeed.”

Joe rolled his eyes. "Make yourself at home. I'll call you when I get a flight."

"Alright," Ben said. "Frankie and I are waiting for you."

Joe's face melted into a look of pure affection. "Give her a kiss for me."

The line cut off before Ben could say anything else. He tossed the phone across the couch and pulled Frankie into his lap. He kissed the top of her head, and she wiggled in his hold. "Your dad? He's gonna be the death of me. He is."

* * *

Gwil thought it was hilarious. He called he and Ben "cut from the same cloth." Joe rolled his eyes and shoved his clothes into his bag, hoisting it over his shoulders.

He was teasing all the way to the airport, all the way up until he saw Joe off to the plane. When it came time to say their goodbyes, however, Gwilym hugged him tight with his arms around Joe's shoulders. He pulled back with a wide smile. "Next time you come to stay a week, you had better actually stay." He tilted his chin up, regarding Joe closely. "Come for me, next time. I'd stay home for you." Joe laughed as Gwil winked at him.

"Next time," Joe said, "promise."

"Go get him," Gwil urged, gripping Joe's shoulder.

He hugged Gwil again before he left for his gate.

* * *

Once the initial shock wore off, Lucy — much like Gwil — laughed. She thought it was fuckin' _comical_. Rami was just surprised that Ben actually lasted the entire ride up to the airport. Rami had expected him to roll his eyes and jam his earbuds into his ears.

When he mentioned it, Ben just shrugged a shoulder. "I'm spending as much time with you right now as possible," he'd explained. At Rami's expression, he smirked. "We're not leaving that apartment for at least a few days," he vowed. He crossed his arms and looked out the window, his mouth picking up.

"Maybe we ought to stop by CVS on our way," he mumbled to Lucy.

It was tricky, keeping Ben on task in the airport. They'd gotten there a smidgen too early — if Ben had his way, really, they'd have gotten there _much_ earlier than this. Even if Joe's flight was still eight hours long, not including boarding times and a slight delay.

Ben and Frankie showed up at their apartment again and they kept him company until Lucy finally declared that it was time to leave. They dropped Frankie back off at Joe's, and then they were on their way.

Now, Ben was practically vibrating with excitement.

He was wearing sunglasses and a snug beanie to avoid anyone recognizing him. Rami thought he looked sort of twitchy, like he'd been given two shots of _5 Hour Energy_ and then sat down and told he couldn't move. It was in his fingers, and how he bounced his leg. He looked like he was ready to run a marathon with minimal training and _win_.

They were sat in one of the waiting areas, not too far off from arrivals. They were in a row, with Rami in the middle. His hand was intertwined with Lucy's, while his head leaned on Ben's shoulder. Ben was slouched in his seat, scrolling through his Instagram aimlessly. His foot bounced, and Rami could feel the movement from where his cheek was smushed against Ben's shoulder.

After a minute, Ben landed on Joe's page. There was a little pink ring around his profile image. Ben thumbed it and a picture popped up. A caption-less view of a street, with a little blue heart in the lower right corner.

Rami hummed, "Where's that?"

"Outside my house," Ben answered, voice withered. "Posted before we got all this shit sorted."

Lucy squeezed Rami's hand, and when he looked over to her, she looked incredulous. "Are you telling me that you could have had this ironed out, if you'd have just checked your phone?"

Ben rolled his eyes at her, looking like a petulant child. "I was _busy_ , Lucy!"

She shook her head at him wordlessly before looking back down to her own phone.

Ben made a little sound and mirrored her. He tapped Joe's story again and watched the picture until it disappeared again. With a little huff, Ben shut his phone off and closed his ridiculous cover over the screen.

Rami leaned back into him and shut his eyes, content to catch a small nap before Joe arrived.

* * *

Joe was pretty confident that he spotted them before they saw him. Even with their casual, incognito wear. Maybe it was because he was accustomed to those looks, or maybe it was just the people. He was utterly drawn to them, after all.

They were all lined up like ducks in a row, with Rami very much asleep, with half his face molded to Ben's shoulder.

Lucy, on the other side of Rami, was the first one to spot him. It was like she had sensed his eyes on them, and she looked up. She locked eyes with him for all of four seconds before she turned and shook Rami's shoulder, pulling the newly-woken, clearly disoriented man to her side.

Ben looked to her with a knitted brow.

She just smiled at him and nodded her head Joe's way.

It was in this way that Joe very, _very_ quickly found himself with an armful of Ben Hardy. He stumbled backwards two steps, but had to find some sort of stability, because "armful" was no exaggeration.

Joe was pretty sure that if he hadn't had his backpack on to even out some of the weight, he really would have toppled. Ben's thighs squeezed around his waist, clinging to him like a goddamn koala. Joe wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tight.

"So, d'ya miss me?" he asked through a surprised laugh. Ben pulled back and looked down at him. Joe wrapped one arm around his back, and the other around his ass to keep him steady.

Ben held the sides of his face with the utmost reverence, eyes soft and loving. His thumbs swept over Joe’s cheekbones, and Joe was overcome with affection for this man. His head _swam_ with it. "Honestly, just shut up," Ben muttered, leaning down so he could kiss him.

Joe muttered something like _hello_ into Ben's mouth before he melted into the kiss.

In the back of his mind, he was a little concerned about people watching, probably taking pictures, but Ben soon chased those thoughts away.

After a minute, Ben pulled back. He kissed his cheek, his brow bone. He pressed their foreheads together or a moment, and Joe wanted to savor the moment, swear to God. His hand slipped farther up Ben's back and he murmured, "What say we head home, huh?"

Ben smirked down at him. "Is that your way of telling me that you're going to drop us if I don't get down?"

"Uhm. Yes."  Joe nodded up to him, cracking a smile. "Yes, that is what I'm saying."

Ben kissed him again and lowered himself to the floor. He grabbed Joe's roller in one hand, and gripped his hand in the other. He led them back to Lucy and Rami, who were grinning at them like fools.

Joe absolutely sure that he saw a small group of people not too far away who had filmed the entire thing. He'd check the Gram later. God knows it was bound to pop up _some_ time.

And if not from those kids, surely from Lucy, because one look told Joe that she had recorded the whole thing, too.

* * *

(Ben was the one to share it. He shortened the clip he got from Lucy, including how Joe caught him, part of the kiss, and how Ben jumped down and grabbed his ha _nd_. He captioned it “ _Guess who came to visit._ 📷 _:_ ** _@lucyboynton1_** **#IWin #HesMyIdiot**.”

Joe reposted it without comment.)

**Author's Note:**

> my sister wanted me to make them both get tickets back home at the same time, thus missing each other AGAIN. i would have died. i almost wrote it, too.
> 
> i literally wrote this all in one day and i gave it the Briefest of glances before posting. please forgive any mistakes, cause i rlly just want to get it up before i go to bed :weary: ill look it over tomorrow, it's fine.
> 
> idk guys, wdyt? should i write the scene abt what happens when they get home? i lowkey wanted to but the fluffy kiss seemed like a good end point tbh. i was thinking abt having smthn w them joking abt moving in together and then gifting each other apartmnent keys, too. A continuation? lmk
> 
> here's my tumblr,[ @mazlektov.](https://mazlektov.tumblr.com/) Come say hi! send me things and prompts :)


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